The latest despatch from our representatives ‘in the Med’ – Simon and Mary Wallace
We are busy preparing our fields and crops for the summer months, which will bring long periods of very dry and sunny weather…and no rain. Currently, daytime temperatures are on the rise (20 degrees today) and we are enjoying spending time outdoors, some alfresco dining and tea breaks on the plot under the shade of our almond trees.
Over the ‘winter’ months we planted some more fruit pomegranate trees, vines, figs and kept our small almond saplings and recently planted olive trees well-watered. It was also the time to get the x6 compost bins emptied/sorted out, plan the planting areas, and double-check on our crop rotation plans and the companion planting charts. We also made another lot of portable reed screens/ windbreaks using locally sourced, dried Arundo donax (Qasba in Maltese).
We re-sited our larger chicken run and are experimenting with a composting system involving our chickens after watching this short video! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pe6M9CkvKEU. We have started to mulch the no-dig raised beds and made some very smelly nettle feed. We experimented with various ‘chicken-proof’ planting techniques (with varying degrees of success) for our kale, kohl rabbi, broad beans and spring onions. We also harvested a good crop of spuds and the seed potatoes this year came from Holland, not Scotland, as in pre-Brexit times. The chickens have however tucked into the local earwig (Mqass) population with a vengeance.
Over the spring we also took the opportunity to enjoy lots of walks, enjoying nature and visiting heritage sites, particularly over on neighbouring Malta and the island of Comino (Kemmuna in Maltese) .It’s been lovely taking time out to explore all sorts of places from different eras – Neolithic, Punic, Roman, Medieval, Phoenician, Knight’s era and British/ WW2 sites and the 19th century ‘Victoria Lines’ (also known as the Great Wall of Malta!). The ‘green’ countryside at this time of year is absolutely packed with wildflowers and native Mediterranean species adapted to coastal, karst valley, garrigue and maquis landscapes and habitats, so it provided us with a good opportunity to improve our knowledge of many endemic flowers.
We are looking forward to summer gardening – starting either very early in the morning or early evening, when it’s cooler and we have some afternoon shade (but also mosquitos). This year we are going for a range of heritage tomato varieties, chillies, okra, peppers, sunflowers, squash, red orach, courgettes and pumpkins.
We have visited or learnt about a number of local gardening /permaculture schemes, including Thrive Gardens https://www.thrivemalta.com/ ; The Jam Project https://www.facebook.com/thejamprojectgozo/ ; the Ministry for Gozo run Dawwara Plant and Tree Nursery in Victoria https://mgoz.gov.mt/en/Pages/Rural%20Gozo/DawwaraNursery.aspx ; the recently restored Ta’ Kenuna Gardens in Nadur, which showcase endemic plant species; and the rooftop gardens and internal ‘living’ green walls at the former abattoir building, in what is now the Valletta Design Cluster.
In addition to the chickens and honey bees, we share the plot with quite a wide range of endemic Maltese wildlife, including a sizable Algerian Hedgehog, Chameleons, Skinks, Black Whip Snakes, Maltese Wall Lizards, (podcaris), Moorish Geckos (they hang out in the shed!), Sicilian Shrews, Birds, Bats, Dragonflies, Egyptian Grasshoppers, Cicadas, large purple Carpenter Bees and colonies of Paper Wasps.
Enjoy the photos, enjoy your garden, enjoy the summer!
